60-619: Diana J. Gabaldon ( / ˈ ɡ æ b əl d oʊ n / ; born January 11, 1952) is an American author, known for the Outlander series of novels. Her books merge multiple genres, featuring elements of historical fiction , romance , mystery , adventure and science fiction / fantasy . A television adaptation of the Outlander novels premiered on Starz in 2014. Gabaldon was born on January 11, 1952, in Williams, Arizona , United States,
120-467: A cameo appearance as Iona MacTavish in the August 2014 episode " The Gathering ". Gabaldon is a paid consultant for the show, and wrote the screenplay for the 2016 season 2 episode " Vengeance Is Mine ". In 2010 Gabaldon adapted the first third of Outlander into The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel , illustrated by Hoang Nguyen. The same year, a 14-song cycle based on Outlander was released under
180-685: A television adaptation , and production began in October 2013 in Scotland. The series premiered in the US on August 9, 2014, with Caitríona Balfe and Sam Heughan starring as Claire and Jamie. It was picked up for a second season on August 15, 2014, and for a third and fourth season on June 1, 2016. On May 9, 2018, Starz renewed the series for a fifth and sixth season. Further renewals for seventh and eighth seasons were announced in early 2021 and late 2022 respectively. In January 2023, Starz greenlighted
240-451: A 10-episode prequel series, Blood of My Blood , based on Jamie's parents. Gabaldon will be an executive producer. Lord John series The Lord John series is a sequence of historical mystery novels and shorter works written by Diana Gabaldon that center on Lord John Grey , a recurring secondary character in the author's Outlander series . Secretly homosexual "in a time when that particular predilection could get one hanged,"
300-455: A 14-song cycle based on Outlander was released under the title Outlander: The Musical . With music by Kevin Walsh and lyrics by Mike Gibb, the project was approved by Gabaldon after Gibb had approached the author in Scotland with the idea to adapt her novel into a stage production. As Gabaldon recalled, "I laughed and said, 'That’s the screwiest idea I’ve heard yet – go ahead.' So they did, and
360-549: A 2007 podcast , Gabaldon noted that each of her books, though complex, "can actually be reduced to a single word that embodies all of the thematic complexity of that book," and that the word for Brotherhood of the Blade is "honor". In 1759, Lord John finds that someone has reawakened the long-forgotten scandal of his father's death 17 years earlier, and the old controversy threatens to cause trouble for himself and his elder brother Harold, Earl of Melton. Despite Hal's desire to leave
420-486: A conspiracy that leads them to Ireland, and danger. The novella Lord John and the Plague of Zombies was first published in the 2011 Ace Books urban fantasy anthology Down These Strange Streets , edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois. In April 2013, it became available as a standalone e-book titled A Plague of Zombies , and was later included in A Trail of Fire , an Outlander collection released in
480-436: A cousin by marriage to Grey's friend and colleague, Harry Quarry. Gerald asks Grey to meet him in secret that night, hinting at intrigue, but he is later killed in front of Grey and Quarry before he can divulge the reason for the meeting. The two men begin to search for clues to the murder, and Grey is soon invited to a Hellfire Club meeting by George Everett, one of its members (and one of Grey's former lovers). When Grey attends
540-542: A gentlemen's duel in which his opponent was killed. Grey gladly accepts an urgent summons from his old friend Charlie Carruthers, who is facing court-martial in Canada. Gabaldon's third full-length Lord John novel, the 560-page The Scottish Prisoner , was published by Delacorte Press on November 29, 2011. It debuted at #6 on The New York Times E-Book Fiction Best-Seller List. In 1760, Lord John and Jamie Fraser are reunited again as Grey seeks Jamie's help investigating
600-451: A kilt, which I thought rather fetching, and demonstrated—in this particular episode—a form of pigheaded male gallantry that I've always found endearing: the strong urge on the part of a man to protect a woman, even though he may realize that she's plainly capable of looking after herself. Frazer Hines , who played McCrimmon, appears in an episode of the first season of the television series Outlander . Core characters include: In 2010,
660-404: A local succubus victimizing a number of men and murdering a Prussian soldier. Accompanying the town Buergermeister to a graveyard in his search for the creature's resting place, Grey stumbles upon the corpse of an English soldier, which only feeds the superstitious fears of the soldiers and townspeople. While attempting to solve the mystery, Grey tries to navigate his perhaps-mutual attraction to
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#1732779784448720-569: A rerun episode of the Doctor Who science fiction TV series titled " The War Games ". One of the Doctor's companions was a Scot from around 1745, a young man about 17 years old named Jamie McCrimmon , who provided the initial inspiration for her main male character, James Fraser, and for her novel's mid-18th century Scotland setting. Gabaldon decided to have "an Englishwoman to play off all these kilted Scotsmen", but her female character "took over
780-538: A review of Full Impact , as well as popular-science articles and Disney comics . She was a professor with an expertise in scientific computation at ASU for 12 years before leaving to write full-time. In 1988, Gabaldon decided to write a novel for "practice, just to learn how", and with no intention to show it to anyone. As a research professor, she decided that a historical novel would be easiest to research and write, but she had no background in history and initially no particular time period in mind. Gabaldon happened to see
840-580: A slave rebellion and soon finds himself investigating a mystery involving snakes, spiders and zombies . The novella Besieged was first published in the 2017 Gabaldon collection Seven Stones to Stand or Fall . In 1762, Lord John is set to step down as temporary military governor of Jamaica when he learns that his mother is in Havana , Cuba , where the British Navy is headed to lay siege. He departs to rescue her, accompanied by his valet, Tom Byrd,
900-501: Is a Roman Catholic . The Outlander series focuses on 20th-century nurse Claire Randall, who time travels to 18th-century Scotland and finds adventure and romance with the dashing James Fraser. Set in Scotland, France, the West Indies , England and North America, the novels merge multiple genres, featuring elements of historical fiction , romance , mystery , adventure and science fiction / fantasy . The Lord John series
960-582: Is a collection of Outlander short works released in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand in late 2012 and expected to be released in the United States and Canada in early 2014. It includes two previously published Lord John novellas, The Custom of the Army (2010) and Lord John and the Plague of Zombies (2011), as well as the previously published Outlander short story " A Leaf on
1020-542: Is a competent and likable sleuth, and Gabaldon's prose is crisply elegant." In 2007, Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade debuted at #1, and the Hand of Devils collection reached #24 on The New York Times Hardcover Fiction Best-Seller List. In a review of Hand of Devils , Publishers Weekly noted, "Gabaldon brings an effusive joy to her fiction that proves infectious even for readers unfamiliar with her work or
1080-424: Is a direct follow-up to her novel Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade , Gabaldon pushed the publication of the Hand of Devils collection until after the novel's release. Picking up right after the events of Brotherhood of the Blade in 1759, Grey searches for the culprit behind a suspicious cannon explosion as others seek to blame him or his half-brother for the incident. The novella The Custom of
1140-736: Is a fascinating character. He's what I call a 'mushroom'—one of those unplanned people who pops up out of nowhere and walks off with any scene he's in—and he talks to me easily (and wittily). He's also a gay man, in a time when to be homosexual was a capital offense, and Lord John has more than most to lose by discovery. He belongs to a noble family, he's an officer in His Majesty’s Army, and loves both his family and his regiment; to have his private life discovered would damage—if not destroy—both. Consequently, he lives constantly with conflict, which makes him both deeply entertaining and easy to write about. That first Lord John story became Lord John and
1200-488: Is a sequence of novels and shorter works that center on Lord John Grey , a recurring secondary character in Gabaldon's Outlander series. The spin-off series currently consists of five novellas and three novels, which all take place between 1756 and 1761, during the events of Gabaldon's Voyager . They can be generally categorized as historical mysteries , and the three novels are shorter and focus on fewer plot threads than
1260-569: Is a series of historical fantasy novels by American author Diana Gabaldon . Gabaldon began the first volume of the series, Outlander , in the late 1980s, and it was published in 1991. She has published nine out of a planned ten volumes. The ninth novel in the series, Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone , was released on November 23, 2021. The Outlander series focuses on 20th-century British nurse Claire Randall , who time travels to 18th-century Scotland and finds adventure and romance with
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#17327797844481320-530: The Lord John books have been released in audiobook form, read by Jeff Woodman. In 2010, Gabaldon adapted the first third of Outlander into a graphic novel , illustrated by Hoang Nguyen. The Lord John series is a sequence of novels and shorter works that center on Lord John Grey , a recurring secondary character from the Outlander novels. The spin-off series consists of five novellas and three novels, which all take place between 1756 and 1761, during
1380-523: The Outlander series rather than a spin-off series, centering on a secondary character from the original series. Gabaldon announced in September 2021 that she is working on the tenth Outlander series book, which is possibly the last. Gabaldon lives in Scottsdale, Arizona , with her husband Doug Watkins, with whom she has three adult children. Her son, Sam Sykes , is also a fantasy writer. Gabaldon
1440-551: The University of California, San Diego , Scripps Institution of Oceanography , 1973–1975; and a PhD in behavioral ecology from Northern Arizona University, 1975–1978. Gabaldon was the founding editor of Science Software Quarterly in 1984 while employed at the Center for Environmental Studies at Arizona State University . During the 1980s Gabaldon wrote software reviews and technical articles for computer publications such as
1500-580: The Army was first published in the 2010 Tor Books fantasy anthology Warriors , edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois . In May 2012 it became available as a standalone e-book, and was later included in A Trail of Fire , an Outlander collection released in 2012. It was later collected in Seven Stones to Stand or Fall (2017). In 1759, Lord John finds himself both about to be promoted within His Majesty's Army and fresh from
1560-456: The Brotherhood of the Blade (2007) and The Scottish Prisoner (2011). Private Matter reached #8 on The New York Times Hardcover Fiction Best-Seller List . Publishers Weekly said of the novel, "Grey is a competent and likable sleuth, and Gabaldon's prose is crisply elegant." Set in 1757 England, the novel follows Lord John's attempt to resolve a delicate situation involving his cousin's betrothed, Joseph Trevelyan, while searching for
1620-650: The Brotherhood of the Blade and The Scottish Prisoner ) as well as the initial three novellas collected as Lord John and the Hand of Devils ( Lord John and the Hellfire Club , Lord John and the Succubus and Lord John and the Haunted Soldier ). Though calling itself an omnibus, the collection does not include the previously published Lord John novellas The Custom of the Army (2010) and Lord John and
1680-670: The Hell-Fire Club in a "Complimentary Collector's Special Edition" the same year. It was later included in the Lord John and the Hand of Devils collection (2007). Set in 1756 London, the novella follows the adventures of Lord John as he stumbles upon the secrets of the Hellfire Club , an underground society concerned with the supernatural . While at the Beefsteak Club , Grey is introduced to Robert Gerald,
1740-536: The Hellfire Club (1998); it was well-received and Gabaldon decided that she would write more Grey-centric tales in her spare time. Her next attempt was a larger manuscript that secured the author a deal for three full Grey novels: Lord John and the Private Matter (2003), Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade (2007) and The Scottish Prisoner (2011). Gabaldon would also write four additional Lord John novellas between 2003 and 2011. Meanwhile,
1800-651: The Masters of Modern Fantasy (edited by Robert Silverberg ), and later collected in Lord John and the Hand of Devils (2007). Set in 1758, the story finds Lord John in Prussia serving as the English liaison officer to the First Regiment of Hanoverian Foot. Briefly stationed at the town of Gundwitz with a group of English and Hanoverian soldiers, Major Grey is at first skeptical when he receives reports of
1860-409: The Plague of Zombies (2011), which appear together in the Outlander collection A Trail of Fire . In August 2016, Joanna Robinson of Vanity Fair called Grey "a character so popular, Gabaldon eventually spun him off into his own novels". Lord John and the Private Matter reached #8 on The New York Times Hardcover Fiction Best-Seller List in 2003. Publishers Weekly said of the novel, "Grey
Diana Gabaldon - Misplaced Pages Continue
1920-535: The United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand in late 2012 and expected to be released in the United States and Canada in early 2014. The novella was nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America for the “Best Short Mystery Story” of 2011. It was later collected in Seven Stones to Stand or Fall (2017). In 1761, Lord John is sent to Jamaica in command of a battalion to put down
1980-465: The Wind of All Hallows " (2012) and novella The Space Between (2013). According to Gabaldon, the volume is delayed in the US and Canada until February 2014 when the rights to The Space Between in those areas revert to her. In April 2013 Gabaldon released an e-book collection called The Lord John Series featuring all three of her Lord John novels ( Lord John and the Private Matter , Lord John and
2040-690: The author "continues to churn out one bestseller after another." By 2012 her novels had been published in 27 countries and 24 languages. She has since gone on to win numerous awards for both her writing and her contributions to the UK, one of which was from the National Trust for Scotland's "Great Scot" award, rarely given to a non-Scot. Also, Gabaldon received the St. Andrew's Society of Los Angeles & Southern California "Robert Burns Lifetime Achievement Award." Gabaldon continues to be recognized and given accolades
2100-538: The back of our minds as a potential thing, but right now our minds are pretty firmly set on just delivering the second season. We'll see what happens down the line on Lord Grey." Oscar Kennedy subsequently portrayed a young Grey in the 2016 season two episode " Je Suis Prest ", adapting the character's appearance in Dragonfly in Amber . With the August 2016 casting of David Berry as the adult Grey for season three of
2160-463: The character has been called "one of the most complex and interesting" of the hundreds of characters in Gabaldon's Outlander novels. Starting with the 1998 novella Lord John and the Hellfire Club , the Lord John spin-off series currently consists of six novellas and three novels. Gabaldon introduced Grey in the second Outlander novel Dragonfly in Amber (1992) as a sixteen-year-old English soldier who chances upon Jamie and Claire Fraser on
2220-517: The character of Grey appeared in the Outlander novels A Breath of Snow and Ashes (2005) and An Echo in the Bone (2009), as well as in The Fiery Cross (2001) by way of a series of letters to Jamie and his family. To date, the Lord John works all take place between 1756 and 1761, during the events of Gabaldon's Voyager . They can be generally categorized as historical mysteries, and
2280-471: The character, "A gay man in a time when that particular predilection could get one hanged, Lord John is a man accustomed to keeping secrets. He's also a man of honor and deep affections—whether returned or not." The novella Lord John and the Hellfire Club was originally published in the 1998 British anthology Past Poisons: An Ellis Peters Memorial Anthology of Historical Crime (edited by Maxim Jakubowski ), as well as by Bantam Dell as Lord John and
2340-474: The dashing Highland warrior Jamie Fraser . The books have sold over 50 million copies worldwide as of 2021. Among the many derived works are two short stories, three novellas, a novel series featuring recurring secondary character Lord John Grey , a graphic novel , a musical, and a television series . The Outlander series has been released in both unabridged (read by Davina Porter ) and abridged audiobooks (read by Geraldine James). Several of
2400-491: The dashing Hanoverian Captain Stephan von Namtzen, as well as to deflect the advances of the beautiful young widow Louisa, Princess von Lowenstein, at whose castle both men are staying. Gabaldon's second full-length Lord John novel, the 512-page Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade , was published by Delacorte Press on August 28, 2007. It debuted at #1 on The New York Times Hardcover Fiction Best-Seller List. In
2460-479: The daughter of Jacqueline Sykes and Tony Gabaldon (1930–1998), an Arizona state senator from Flagstaff for sixteen years and later a supervisor of Coconino County. Her father was of Mexican ancestry, and her mother was of English descent. Gabaldon grew up in Flagstaff, Arizona . She earned a bachelor of science in zoology from Northern Arizona University , 1970–1973; a master of science in marine biology from
Diana Gabaldon - Misplaced Pages Continue
2520-568: The eve of the Battle of Prestonpans . The character returns, as an adult, in Voyager (1993) and Drums of Autumn (1996). When Gabaldon was invited to write a short story for the 1998 British anthology Past Poisons: An Ellis Peters Memorial Anthology of Historical Crime , she was interested in the challenge of writing a shorter work but hesitant to use any of the main characters from the Outlander series for fear of creating "a stumbling block in
2580-530: The events of Gabaldon's Voyager . They can be generally categorized as historical mysteries , and the three novels are shorter and focus on fewer plot threads than the main Outlander books. Several of the Lord John books have been released in audiobook form, read by Jeff Woodman. Gabaldon was inspired by the Doctor Who character Jamie McCrimmon to set her series in Jacobite Scotland, and to name its protagonist Jamie. This character wore
2640-420: The ex-zombie Rodrigo, and Rodrigo's wife, Azeel. Lord John and the Hand of Devils is a 2007 Delacorte Press collection of the first three Lord John novellas: the previously published Lord John and the Hellfire Club (1998) and Lord John and the Succubus (2003), and the new tale Lord John and the Haunted Soldier , exclusive to this volume. Gabaldon pushed the publication of the collection until after
2700-418: The growth of the next novel." The Lord John character came to mind. She said: Lord John Grey is an important character in the Outlander series, but he isn't onstage all the time. And when he isn't ... well, plainly he's off leading his life and having adventures elsewhere, and I could write about any of those adventures without causing complications for future novels. Beyond that obvious advantage, Lord John
2760-420: The main Outlander books. Professor Gabaldon's research works included: The Outlander series has been released in unabridged (read by Davina Porter ) and abridged (read by Geraldine James) audiobooks. Several of the Lord John books have been released in audiobook form, read by Jeff Woodman. A television adaptation of the Outlander series premiered on Starz in the US on August 9, 2014. Gabaldon made
2820-423: The meeting at the club's hideout, Medmenham Abbey , he soon discovers that his life might be in danger as well. The first full-length Lord Grey novel, Lord John and the Private Matter , was published by Delacorte Press on September 30, 2003. Though Gabaldon had intended it to be a novella, Private Matter came in at 320 pages and secured the author a deal for two additional full Grey novels, Lord John and
2880-555: The most complex and interesting" of the hundreds of characters in Gabaldon's Outlander novels. In 2015, Fandomania named him among their "Top 10 Crushworthy LGBT Characters in Sci-Fi/Fantasy". A television series adaptation of Gabaldon's Outlander series premiered on Starz in 2014, and Executive Producer Ronald D. Moore was asked in March 2015 about the possibility of a Lord John television series. He said, "It's in
2940-428: The murderer of a fellow soldier suspected of espionage and recovering missing military intelligence. Grey meets and is joined in his investigation by the handsome Hanoverian Captain Stephan von Namtzen, Landgrave of Erdberg, and takes young Tom Byrd into his employ as his valet . The novella Lord John and the Succubus was originally published in the 2003 Del Rey Books anthology Legends II: New Short Novels by
3000-439: The novella A Plague of Zombies was nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America for the “Best Short Mystery Story” the same year. Reviewing the Lord John series, Publishers Weekly said that "Gabaldon's prose is crisply elegant" and that she "brings an effusive joy to her fiction that proves infectious even for readers unfamiliar with her work or the period." Outlander (book series) Outlander
3060-545: The period." The Scottish Prisoner debuted at #6 on The New York Times E-Book Fiction Best-Seller List in 2011, and A Plague of Zombies was nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America for the “Best Short Mystery Story” the same year. Of Scottish Prisoner , Publishers Weekly said, "A complicated plot will likely baffle new readers, but long-time Gabaldon fans will find plenty to love." The character of Lord John Grey has been called "one of
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#17327797844483120-447: The release of her novel Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade , since the action of Haunted Soldier picks up where Brotherhood of the Blade ends. Hand of Devils reached #24 on The New York Times Hardcover Fiction Best-Seller List. Publishers Weekly noted, "Gabaldon brings an effusive joy to her fiction that proves infectious even for readers unfamiliar with her work or the period." A Trail of Fire (Four Outlander Tales)
3180-472: The results were stunning." Though the stage production remains in development, the 14-song cycle is available on CD from Amazon.com and for download on iTunes . In 2012, Broadway composer Jill Santoriello began collaborating with Gibb and Walsh on the project, writing the music and cowriting the lyrics with Gibb for a new song called "One More Time." The song was recorded with vocals by Rebecca Robbins. In June 2013, Starz ordered 16 episodes of
3240-439: The secrets of the past buried, Grey seeks the help of his old friend Jamie Fraser , whose secrets may both help and complicate Grey's investigations. The novella Lord John and the Haunted Soldier was published in the 2007 Delacorte Press collection Lord John and the Hand of Devils alongside previously published novellas Lord John and the Hellfire Club (1998) and Lord John and the Succubus (2003). As Haunted Soldier
3300-754: The story and began telling it herself, making smart-ass modern remarks about everything." To explain the character's modern behavior and attitudes, Gabaldon chose to use time travel . Writing the novel at a time "when the World Wide Web didn't exist", she did her research "the old-fashioned way, by herself, through books." Later, Gabaldon posted a short excerpt of her novel on the CompuServe Literary Forum, where author John E. Stith introduced her to literary agent Perry Knowlton. Knowlton represented her based on an unfinished first novel, tentatively titled Cross Stitch. Her first book deal
3360-683: The three novels are shorter and focus on fewer plot threads than the main Outlander books. Several of the Lord John books have been released in audiobook form, read by Jeff Woodman. Lord John Grey himself has been called one of Gabaldon's "most complex and interesting" Outlander characters. Publishers Weekly notes Grey to be "a competent and likable sleuth" and a " soldier-hero with secrets of his own." Comfortable with his sexuality but necessarily "discreet", Grey navigates mystery and intrigue "with characteristic élan, intelligence, and fortitude, assisted by jeweled goblets of wine and meaningful glances from fetching men." Robert Silverberg wrote of
3420-558: The title Outlander: The Musical . Gabaldon's Outlander won the Romance Writers of America 's RITA Award for Best Romance of 1991. A Breath of Snow and Ashes (2005) debuted at #1 on The New York Times Hardcover Fiction Best-Seller List and won the Quill Award for Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror. In 2007, The Montreal Gazette noted that Gabaldon's books "are in demand in 24 countries in 19 languages", and that
3480-421: The world over. Lord John and the Private Matter reached No. 8 on The New York Times Hardcover Fiction Best-Seller List in 2003. In 2007, Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade debuted at #1, and the Hand of Devils collection reached No. 24 on The New York Times Hardcover Fiction Best-Seller List. The Scottish Prisoner debuted at #6 on The New York Times E-Book Fiction Best-Seller List in 2011, and
3540-401: Was finished, Gabaldon resigned her faculty position at Arizona State University to become a full-time author. As of 2021, the Outlander series comprises nine published novels. The ninth installment, Go Tell the Bees That I am Gone , was published on November 23, 2021. Gabaldon also published The Exile (An Outlander Graphic Novel) in 2010. The Lord John series are additional books in
3600-477: Was for a trilogy, the first novel plus two then-unwritten sequels. Her US publishers changed the first book's title to Outlander , but the title remained unchanged in the UK. According to Gabaldon, her British publishers liked the title Cross Stitch , a play on "a stitch in time"; however, the American publisher said it "sounded too much like embroidery" and wanted a more "adventurous" title. When her second book
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